Still, the delay in the confirmation vote does not signal any
increased likelihood that DeVos won't be confirmed, according to
some education policy experts. "Ms. DeVos will be confirmed but
not without strong Democratic opposition," Georgetown
professor Stephen J. Wayne told Business Insider.

"It is very difficult to reject a cabinet appointee when the
president's party controls the Senate. Partisan voting
patterns are so strong, and the minority can no longer use the
filibuster to stop a nomination," Wayne continued.

"I didn't see any evidence in the hearings that would indicate
that the votes just won't fall along partisan lines here, in
which case the nomination will carry forward and she could expect
a similar kind of vote in the legislature as a whole," Reville
told Business Insider.

If history has any bearing, DeVos need not worry about passing
through the confirmation process.